Assessment of chemical pollution in the Mediterranean: a preliminary driver-pressure analysis.

Mediterranean coastal zone pollution is largely originated from sources on land, mainly in the form of uncontrolled waste discharges from municipal and industrial sources. Several compounds producing pollution also reach the sea from river transport and from atmospheric deposition. The pollution reduction is strongly connected with the reduction of inputs into the coastal zone and therefore with the reduction of pressures exerted by land-based sources of pollution. Following the ongoing EU legislation and the scientific advances, an integrated approach must be used when considering both the socio-economic activities generating pollution and the quality status of the water body. Hence, the interrelationship between the ecological and socio-economic studies and effective policy responses can be summarised under the Drivers-Pressures-State-Impacts-Response (DPSIR) framework as successfully experienced in recent EU projects A further insight into the major patterns of chemical pollution in Mediterranean coastal waters (other than nutrients and oil spills) and a causal chain analysis is being carried out within the ELME Project (European Lifestyles and Marine Ecosystems), The assessment is performed through the definition of current chemical problems in the region which implies (i) the development of an inventory reporting the existing chemical products and their use in relation to major social and economic Drivers, (ii) an estimate of annual releases of chemicals from major point and diffuse sources into the marine environment, (iii) the determination of major transport pathways from the emission source to marine waters, and (iv) an evaluation of the present and projected future State of the marine waters. Having the above in mind, a scenarios analysis will examine the effectiveness of various options in achieving Water Quality Objectives. In this preliminary phase of the project, the D-P analysis was done for the assessment of current chemical problems in the Mediterranean coastal zone environment, the inventory of existing chemical products in relation to the social and economic Drivers at the regional scale, and the current production and import volumes of chemical substances. The methodological approach involved the identification of main contaminant categories, the evaluation of data availability and check of their quality, the determination of main Drivers' categories that originate pollution and the definition of hot-spot and sensible areas. Main pollutant categories (metals and organics) were retrieved from scientific literature and reports, databases were developed and include data on emissions to air and water, chemicals concentration in water, sediments and biota samples.